Floods

[Oracle]

BBC News suggests that the Workington river bridge is at risk from the floods and 'might go' they said with the high tide due this afternoon.

 

[gordonthemoron]

is that the one which was washed away at 4:40 this morning or another one?

 

[Oracle]

I hope that this link works..it's the Cumbrian Coast bridge over the River Derwent. Two road bridges have now been swept-away I gather. The railway bridge was said to be moving at 12.30, so could be doomed.

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=54.647967&lon=-3.558636&z=15.9&r=0&src=msl

Because of flooding between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, services are being severely disrupted.

The line is closed between:

Carlisle and Workington
Sellafield and Millom
No replacement road transport is possible due to the flooding between the above locations, and passengers are being advised not to travel.

Trains are only running between:

Workington and Sellafield
Millom and Barrow-in-Furness

 

[Oswyntail]

May i offer my hopes that no one who is a member of this board is suffering from these floods - and that, if anyone is, they are getting all the help they need.

 

[Oracle]

There has of course been a police constable swept away from one of the bridges.

I texted my colleagues in the Appleby area at about 8.00 and apparently they are all right, despite the River Eden being liable to flood. However the schools are closed.

 

[gordonthemoron]

my mum is in hospital in Whitehaven, but fortunately that's on top of a hill

 

[Sir_Clagalot]

The former rail crossing which is on the right of that shot just where it says 'derwent', which looks to have a footbridge now has, according to footage on the BBC website, lost half the spans.

 

[175001]

The Conwy Valley Line is closed until further notice. Some damage on it again following last weeks floods.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The Conwy Valley Line is closed until further notice. Some damage on it again following last weeks floods.

The Conwy Valley line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno does seem to be particularly susceptible to flood damage. The floods in 2004 apparently cost £5mln to put right, and a further £1.5mln was spent the following year. Wonder how much the 2009 floods (again in the Llanwrst area) will cost to put right this time around?

Flooding at Llanrwst in 2004

 

[dk1]

I hate saying it, but you cant flog a dead horse. This must be such a drain on recourses & it keeps on happening. With such low passenger usage & still no sign of the much mooted slate traffic, should we keep on throwing money at this beautiful little railway?

 

[First class]

I hate saying it, but you cant flog a dead horse. This must be such a drain on recourses & it keeps on happening. With such low passenger usage & still no sign of the much mooted slate traffic, should we keep on throwing money at this beautiful little railway?

Obviously, yes we should.

Not enough is being spent otherwise this wouldn't be happening would it?

The FR would go bananas if this was even mooted.

These trains can be packed in summer! It receives bare bones investment and runs a minimal service. It's not costing that much in the bigger picture.

 

[175001]

I hate saying it, but you cant flog a dead horse. This must be such a drain on recourses & it keeps on happening. With such low passenger usage & still no sign of the much mooted slate traffic, should we keep on throwing money at this beautiful little railway?

Excuse me??? Are you a local resident of the Valley? I might have moved out 4 months ago, but I've used the line for the last 15 years, and its busier thank YOU think! It might be a 'little' railway for you, but for others, like me, its an important link. I despise buses, and the thought of a rail replacement on Friday night when I go home is depressing. Its packed in the summer, and even weekends in the winter, its busy. So if you think its an underused "little" line, you better do some research on it before you state that.

NR will spend again on it. They've sent on a comms line to Blaenau, and Betws-y-Coed has just been upgraded. Just hope it wont be months this time.

 

[brompton rail]

To bring these postings up to date re Cumbrian Coast.

The Cumbrian Cost line is open, and has been except for a short period mentioned above, the workington Railway Bridge is not damaged and trains are running as normal. As posted elsewhere a temporary station north of the bridge is planned.
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/content/detail.aspx?ReleaseID=4831&NewsAreaID=2&SearchCategoryID=5

 

[dk1]

Excuse me??? Are you a local resident of the Valley? I might have moved out 4 months ago, but I've used the line for the last 15 years, and its busier thank YOU think! It might be a 'little' railway for you, but for others, like me, its an important link. I despise buses, and the thought of a rail replacement on Friday night when I go home is depressing. Its packed in the summer, and even weekends in the winter, its busy. So if you think its an underused "little" line, you better do some research on it before you state that.

NR will spend again on it. They've sent on a comms line to Blaenau, and Betws-y-Coed has just been upgraded. Just hope it wont be months this time.

You do not have to use capital letters to make your point. I am not a local resident, note East Anglia close to my name, & work for & support the railways in every way. I know the route can be very busy during summer but even then it is infrequent & can also be very quiet in autumn, winter & spring.

The only point i dared to make was a valid one in that can we spend vast amounts of money on something that will stand a large chance of occuring again & again. You obviously think so which is your opinion & thank you for that.

 

[175001]

You do not have to use capital letters to make your point. I am not a local resident, note East Anglia close to my name, & work for & support the railways in every way. I know the route can be very busy during summer but even then it is infrequent & can also be very quiet in autumn, winter & spring.

The only point i dared to make was a valid one in that can we spend vast amounts of money on something that will stand a large chance of occuring again & again. You obviously think so which is your opinion & thank you for that.

It will happen, it always has happened, since the line opened in 1879. Floods will knock the line, but it always gets up again.

And with the Pro-Rail Welsh Assembly, trust me, the line won't be drifting down with the ballast to the sea.

NR on the scene now, so there's your answer :- http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nor...-out-at-north-wales-rail-line-55578-25237622/

 

[First class]

The new Workington North station should be ready for service on Monday morning. I was wondering whether even under normal circumstances, would two stations benefit Workington much or is it really only required in this unique situation?

I also bet ATOC take longer adding this station to any fare manuals etc than it took Network Rail to plan, source materials and construct the station itself!

 

[chappers]

The new Workington North station should be ready for service on Monday morning. I was wondering whether even under normal circumstances, would two stations benefit Workington much or is it really only required in this unique situation?

I also bet ATOC take longer adding this station to any fare manuals etc than it took Network Rail to plan, source materials and construct the station itself!

I guess the one problem with Workington North is all of a sudden campaigners for reopening/new stations elsewhere in the country will use the argument "look how easy it is to build one" - rather than looking at the true facts behind its build.

One thing I was thinking about Workington North - what happens when its usefulness is done? Will it be subject to the same closure procedures as other stations, and thus enter into the "Parliamentary Service" conundrum? Or is there some legislation that makes it exempt from this?

 

[A60K]

The 'Speller Amendment' in the early 1980s was a change to the relevant Transport Act and allowed British Rail to start 'Experimental Services' which could be withdrawn by a simple uncontested procedure if they weren't a success. They were marked as such in the national timetable, and the only one I can think of that was ever withdrawn was the Kettering to Corby service.

I think the legislation was revised during the privatisation process, but guess there's still a similar provision.

 

[EM2]

I assume it'll be a very basic station, platforms and footbridge fabricated similar to scaffolding, with a couple of portacabins for the waiting rooms?

 

[furryfeet]

Will this be a free service for getting across the river, whilst the army construct bailey bridges ?

If it is NOT free, then I would hope that the press complain about it, not to mention the local residents !

I know that there will be some expense involved in building a temporary station, but should this not come out of the emergency relief money ?

 

[cuccir]

The land of the station is leased for only two years, indicating that that's the maximum predicted lifespan. Given all the small stations on that line, though, it wouldn't be a huge shock to see the station stay - stranger things have happened. Good to see too that more trains are now being run Maryport-Workington, hopefully this will become a permanent feature till the road bridges are fixed. An interesting question though on the cost of a ticket between Workington North and Workington? I guess in the short term it will be free?

 

[142094]

If it was a free service I guess everyone who travels along the line would have their ticket end at Workington then start again at Workington North and vice versa. Perhaps a small charge like 50p single, 90p return would be fair?

 

[Mike395]

Maybe, but Im not sure how realistic the fare collection would be over such a short distance, especially North-Workington as I cant see them fitting a ticket machine at the temp station, at least not to start with. Maybe a PERTIS though?

 

[142094]

Quite possibly, although on the local news today there was a piece about Workington station and there seemed to have been an influx of Northern and Network Rail employees in the area to get things going, so they might be able to provide someone at the station with a PORTIS (or PERTIS, whatever it is now). Guessing Northern will want to recoup some money for hauling extra passengers and for the extra carriages they are putting on too.

 

[175001]

Conwy Valley line reopened this morning, Network Rail to invest £1 million on improving flood defenses on the line too, good news all round.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Video of the station and first Monday morning DRS / Northern service: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8385656.stm?ls

 

[142094]

I understand the DRS shuttle is free, but what about Northern services?

 

[kennethw]

from info I have received all road bridges in Workington area either down or unsafe - there have been individuals removing the barriers & driving across - trying for a Darwin award? the rail bridge is safe and a new station opened Workington North, also the Army are in the process of constructing a footbridge as at the moment anyone wishing to cross the river by car needs to drive about 20 miles for a safe crossing

 

[Mike Redding]

Yep, the Calva bridge is still standing, just, it's been condemned though. All other bridges in workington and any other bridges along the River Derwent up until the Great Broughton one (which is closed until the council check it) are down. The closest one is in Cockermouth. The footbridge that's being built by the army is now in Cumbria (after being built at an army base in Lancashire) and that's due to go up over next weekend i believe.

As for the Northern services at Workington North and whether they have to pay, I'm sure someone on here will know for definate, but at a guess i'd say that it's free between Workington and Maryport, then the guard would check remaining passengers tickets after leaving Maryport or Workington, and people who boarded at a "free" station would have to pay full fare from the station they boarded at or the fare from Workington or Maryport to their destination. Only guessing though, so might be completely wrong.

I've gotta say though, i really admire the way that people are getting around the disruption. Also the speed things have been put into place, from the bus routes being changed, the new station, the little makeshift shops that have sprung up, it's all rather impressive.

 

[merlodlliw]

Conwy Valley line reopened this morning, Network Rail to invest £1 million on improving flood defenses on the line too, good news all round.

Yes and the service is also free to anyone over 60 or disabled,good all round